Adios Dominos!

Several posts ago I promised to throw out more recipes into blogworld and so far have merely provided two. Sorry, readers. I am one busy mama these days.

However, I did want to share a favorite recipe called "Pizza Marghertia". This is traditional Italian pizza and sadly does not include any tequila, lime, or salt-rimmed glasses. The words are simply pronounced the same. Friday night is usually pizza night here at casa de Phillips, however it is almost always homemade pizza to save money and to save our waistlines. Perhaps your family can enjoy a pizza night soon.

Marghertia Pizza
Ingredients:

• One loaf of Rhodes Bread Dough, thawed and left to rise (pull this out of the fridge in the morning, cover with Saran wrap, and it will be waiting for you when it is time to cook supper)
• Basil Leaves
• Chopped onion, green bell pepper, and garlic
• mozzarella cheese (You can buy the expensive "real" mozzarella cheese that comes packed in water. I don't often do that because of cost. I tend to opt for the mozzarella slices that are usually used on sandwiches. You can also use shredded mozzarella or the new Kraft Crumbles. It all depends on how you want you pizza to look.)
• Diced tomato (about 1/2 to 1)

Directions:

1. After dough is thawed and has risen, roll it out on your handy baking stone (use flour, people, or you will have a sticky mess on your hands!). You can make it round, Little Ceasars' style (rectangle), or a bunch of mini pizzas--whatever floats your pizza boat.
2. Drizzle some olive oil over the rolled-out dough
3. Toss the chopped onions, peppers, and garlic around on the dough
4. Throw on some tomatoes
5. Top with cheese (I prefer the sandwich slices because I can tear it as I toss it onto the pizza. This gives the pizza a more rustic look and allows me to put extra cheese on Tobe's half. However, if you like a uniform look to your pizza I would go with the shredded cheese.)
6. Roll about three basil leaves together and chop into small ribbons. Sprinkle on top of cheese. Drizzle a little more olive oil on top and throw on a pinch of salt.
7. Bake at approx. 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until crust is golden

We love this pizza. It is a healthy alternative because it contains no meat, has no pizza sauce (loaded with sugar), and we have used only natural ingredients. Sometimes we get crazy and throw on some sausage or pepperoni, but typically it is all veggies. You can get quite creative with this basic pizza idea and have a variety of pizza recipes in your recipe box. I sometimes make Fajita Pizza, Chicken BBQ pizza, or Taco pizza. So go throw off that magnet on your fridge that has the Domino's phone number plastered on it and erase Papa Johns from your speed-dial--you can make your own pizza!

(I just realized that one of the other recipes I have posted was a pizza recipe. Oops. Next time I will branch out a bit more.)

Isaac enjoys this pizza very much and often asks for more. That boy's appetite keeps growing. Tonight he ate some Chicken Picatta (from the latest issue of Southern Living--we highly recommend it!), egg noodles, baked beans, grapes, cinnamon pears, strawberries, and an entire banana. Yet he somehow remains in the lower 5% weight group for his age.

Isaac's new things are blowing kisses and clapping his hands. I have suspected that he has known how to clap his hands for quite awhile now, but has just been being stubborn. Yesterday morning while on our walk he just started clapping. He has been doing it on command ever since. He also started "Giving kisses" today at lunch. Quite cute. Everyday we realize something new that he understands or some concept he grasps. He is quickly widening his ability to comprehend commands and names of objects and will retrieve things that we ask him to get. He understands what a dog is and can recognize real dogs and toy dogs. He almost has down the idea of panting when you ask him what a dog says. This child is a genius (if your child did this at 8 months of age, please refrain from commenting. Just let me live with these fantasies.) The other night Isaac randomly crawled over to the end table, retrieved the phone, army crawled with the phone over to where I was sitting, and handed me the phone. Obviously I talk a bit too much on that thing. The next thing we plan on teaching him before the upcoming holiday weekend and the start of college football.....how to call the hogs. Soouie!